Free: Anatomy of a general classified scam

[Dan GB]

Recently I was wanting to buy a wind vane here in the classified.
I made a post that I had sent the seller a pm.
Someone else sends me a gm that they can help me.
I don't think straight (blurry eyed timezones).
Ask them if they can send some more pics.
Nope because they can't send pics on this platform but could email directly.
We are emailing back and forth.
They offer a discount.
I accept.
PayPal but has to be "friends and family" otherwise they are charged extra (and you can't complaint procedure it).

With hindsight and my life experience I should not have been this dumb but just came from some transactions with nice trustworthy people - forgot that nor everyone can be trusted. $400 later...

Also the account that contacted me was created in July 2023 but I didn't even look until after.

Just as an aside have had another reach out from an account also created this month.

All good,

Dan

[Wotname]

Very sorry to hear about this Dan.

Please PM the mods with the guy's username and we will deal with it as required.

Everyone, if you get a suspicious or even a slightly suspicious PM, especially after posting about wanting to buy or sell something, please report the PM.

The report icon is at the top RHS of every PM. We will investigate and take the appropriate action to safeguard the CF members; it is part of our daily activities here (sadly).

[Dan GB]

It's fine. Totally my own fault

[mvzenith]

i had the same thing happen to me multiple times when posting for and item that i was looking for . For me the giveaway was that they just joined the forum and the pics they sent me where directly off the web and the friends and family thing . ...They are lurking everywhere

[BlueH2Obound]

Yep, happened to me on the forum last year. I'm usually more adapt at these sorts of things. My failure was that I didn't realize it wasn't the original poster. Anyway, only $50.00, reported it, the Mods immediately banned the poster.

On Paypal, I will never, ever agree to use "friends and family" unless it is to, well, "Friends and Family". I'll offer to pay the added cost to the seller of using "Goods and Services". I also ask the seller to send me a paypal invoice, with a clear description of the item being purchased.

That time last year was the first time since I started using the internet that I've ever been scammed, and it was my own inattention that did me in!

I have purchased lots of items that "sounded too good to be true", BUT my scam radar generally goes into overdrive if that happens, or I purchase in person, with cash.

[leecea]

When I was selling my beach cat (not on this forum) I had a strange situation with a buyer and ended up telling them I wouldn't proceed with the sale. They were quite upset and, in retrospect, I think they were genuine. It's a shame we have to be so defensive and alert for scams, but this thread just reinforces how easy it is to be taken in. Thanks for posting.

[GreenWave]

Yesterday I received PM here from”Kale11” with note to call Rita at xx number about a sailrite. Ha! It’s been reported.

[Dan GB]

Exactly same approach to me by same person

[CaptTom]

I just bought a replacement compass for my lower helm station. After looking around at local stores and on-line, I hit on an on-line seller I'd never heard of before (red flag #1.) I looked them up on a couple of reputation rating sites and they looked pretty good; lots of reviews and only a few negatives. I put my item in the "cart" to see how much they'd soak me for shipping.

I couldn't find out until I created an account. Huge red flag! That's two strikes. Clearly this was going to be one of those sites which adds phony shipping and handling charges, right?

Wrong. I created an account with an alternate e-mail address I keep for things like this. Free shipping. Why didn't they tell me sooner? OK, they're back in the running. No tax. Even better. Now I'm looking at a savings somewhere in the $75 range. This is now worth a shot. Used a credit card instead of PayPal, since they're more likely to give me a refund rather than a fight if something goes wrong.

I've already gotten three e-mails from them, confirming my new account, confirming my payment, and confirming my order. They promised another when the product ships. So, good communication so far.

Now I wait and see how this goes. Worst case I'll have to go through my credit card dispute process. Best case I get the product I want at a good (but not b good) price, and a new on-line merchant I can trust.

[Wotname]

A lot of good info upthread in how to avoid being scammed and how to spot a scammer.

We mods have a range of tools to hunt down and take out the bad guys but they evolve and it becomes a cat and mouse game.

Our best tool is YOU!

1. If you receive an unsolicited PM, please - Look at the sender's public profile page and note their joining date, the number of posts and recent visitors .

2. New members with zero posts is a big red flag and a bigger red flag is if there are some recent visitors to the profile page.

3. If you see a red flag, please report the PM ASAP. We will check it out and take the appropriate action.

You might realise it is a scammer but until we have removed them, they remain a threat to others.

The attachment shows the report icon on a PM.

[Fore and Aft]

Dan scams like this are rife. Friends of ours paid for a pedigree puppy and air freight to our town. They only realised it was a scam when they were at the airport and the dog was not on the flight. It was a sophisticated scam and hard to spot it wasn't.
Anyway, if you are in the UK it looks like there are a few wind vanes on Facebook for sale. There's a Windpilot for sale but it was listed 22 weeks ago, only one photo and seems way to cheap. That one looks suspect to me.
Cheers
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5-3255ea0688bf
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...4-a6029e417653

[Dan GB]

Thanks, that is so helpful. Will have a look

[Mountainsailing]

I received some communication from a scammer over the last few days due to a wanted add I posted here for a series drogue. For whatever reason this forum seems to be a active target for scams currently.

[GreenWave]

Just got PM’d again. Jesus.

[Wotname]

Yep, there has been a wave of them over the last few days - they must be recruiting or a new cohort trainees has graduated from scam training school!

Or perhaps the crew is getting better at reporting the scum.

A big thank you for every report - it really helps!